So many faces Zuko love story
by FritsL
Summary: I might say I'm way to interested in things I shouldn't be interested in. That's how I met zuko, the grumpy tea boy, how he met me. But soon enough we had to find out, that we both had so many faces no one knew about.
1. An outcast to blend in

"She should be ashamed of that behavior, we are ashamed because of her" I heard girls mumbling while walking past me, quickly going back to talking about the usual, boys, new clothing shops or restaurants, nothing of real interest to me, nothing of real importance at all.  
The people here don't know anything about this world. They dont know there's a war and the ones that do ignore this fact. I know I do the same. Ignoring it, never bringing it up. It's the way of surviving here, putting the thoughts of luck above your fighting spirit. Here in this city, I have grown up to be an normal kid. Here in _Ba sing se _where the lies are great, but the city and the walls even greater.  
"Are you reading about the firenation again, are you?" I lowered my book as I heard the voice of my best friend whisper in my ear, afraid someone would hear her. "It's history, common knowledge" "Then why are you hiding it in your schoolbook?" I smiled a little, acknowledging getting caught "To be sure, it's fine, kyaru"  
Kyaru is an refugee. A quite new one actually, she had been here for almost a year. Both her and her parents survived an firenation attack, but her friends and boyfriend got locked up, if they are even still alive. She once told me this in one of her first weeks here, but now she keeps a straight face. She goes with the lies of the city. I go with it, but I've been here for so long.. Six years, or something like that. This has become my home, but my heart is longing for something more, something I now find in books, illegal ones at that.  
I learn myself earth bending, history, the basic knowledge about all the elements and the war-which is the worst here-.

I walked through the city, green clothing as a sign of pride to be in the eartkingdom everywhere. The tea shop I loved passing me, me walking a little back and walked into it. "Oy old man!" I yelled happily "The usual?" he asked "You know it"  
To be honest, the tea in my favorite tea shop isn't the best tea. I have my reasons for coming here.  
I sat down, trying to concentrate on my book with all the people watching me and me trying to calm myself with tea. Loosing my concentration soon enough, "Old man, have you ever wondered, how the wall would look if they let everyone draw and paint on it, It would be so colorful and happy" "No I'd get an headache for sure!"  
My fingers were already tapping, tingling, nervously moving as if they were going on a first date with a really handsome male finger of someone else. I couldn't controle them. Though it almost was like a secret date for me. Every evening. It was something that kept me going, that gave me goosebumps and butterflies.  
In my impatience I walked outside leaving the last bit of tea in my cup. In a quick pace I walked to the house two doors next to the tea shop and walked into the empty house. Quickly, my eyes scanned everything around me before hitting the ground, making it as soft as mud before jumping into it. Basically diving into the ground before I felt the air again, falling to the ground I noticed. I was in my practicing hall again. Without a second of thinking I had rocks flying everywhere, building the hall up, breaking it down. Using it for small details like holding my mouth cap on. Everything could get better. My ways of the swort, my power, my rest, even the love between me and earth, everything could go harder, more precisely.

"You're late, again" I bowed to the head of the orphanage, "I don't cook to give you cold food, chiyo" I smilled slightly "It's okay, cold food actually tastes really good" he sighed extremely hard, almost as if he'd wake the younger kids with it "It's only a few months untill you're Yakutara and you're acting like a kid" "Don't worry I'm all grown" The yakutara is the day you finish school and go to live on your own. The orphanage will no longer take care of you, they say they never will again, that you'll stand for it totally alone but I'm quite sure everyone will try to give me help I don't want. Where the weird name came from is a mystery to me aswell, so is what it means. "I'll be fine, go on a vacation,"  
Okay so maybe i am a little too easy going. The whole sentence 'It'll be fine, just chill' is probably my life story. Even if my curiosity takes the better of me it will never get me in the stress. I will always do what I want to. I will always be there for these people for this life, for these books and for my heart, No matter how rebellious I'll get, because to be honest you haven't really seen anything about life here yet.


	2. Grumpy tea

I watched two willows cross the road as my feet relaxed, standing on small sharp rocks. Willows are beautiful, was the only thing I could think while they walked by. They're like the wonders in the worlds, though these willows don't burn with passion like the once in my old home town. The ones in my memory glowed with pride, these are less, charismatic.  
If you are wondering, No, I'm not really talking about an willow as in threes. I'm walking about the girls who are -in their combined na,e of earth, fire, water (and proabably not air since they kind of died) - called geisha's. Here, in the earth kingdom there are willows and flowers. Flowers are what you'd call prostitutes.. They are beautiful like a flower but they can be picked up easy and there are quite a lot of them.. They could be blown away by a man, while a willow will stand stern, even if the firebenders try to burn it, it'll find it's way into the heart of water.  
Willows are, artists. They are the most beautiful and strong women. They are not just eye candy, they are living pieces of art. They play guitar, love their guitar like I do mine. Keep it to their heart as I keep it on my back, together with my swort. Redden their lips without being scared if a man will ruin it, a man won't touch their lips. Willows are amazing.  
Just like stars and fireflies in the firenation, and the probably now gone ice and moonshine in the watertribes.  
I love the culture, women culture of killing, jealousy and lots of talents.

I started walking to the empty house. The was already starting to because dark, not fully, a red glow was spread over the sky, making me wonder why the sky wasn't always red. Was it the air?  
I took out my book as I noticed this would be my last chance to read with normal light and continued walking. Like a secret dealer I held the book, hidden under my artbook, enjoyed them like a drug.  
"Ah sorry!" I heard a male, pissed of voice say in my ear. Only then I felt the pain on my ear, the gross feeling of water on my clothes. A burning feeling on my arm ruining my yukata.. and the smell off.. leaf tea.  
"My fault" I said happily grinning up at the person who had just thrown tea over me. "also, the tea probably cooled down, it doesn;t hurt" "I know it didn't cool down" This guy was quit grumpy, really honest but grumpy. The way he looked away when my eyes traveled over his face.  
He looks a little like him, I noted, I had never seen anyone look like him this much, in fact.  
"it's fine, also I can't be mad, I usually go to your tea shop!" I said happily. "Then please except this" He said handing me one cup of tea. I smiled happily at the cheap on the go tea cup. These things totally suck, they get cold easily and they do heat your hands, but I really needed one now. "Thank you very much" I mumbled searching through my pockets for money. "It's free, because you got burned.. Then I'll me off" "Wait I ju-" I looked up to see he had left. The coin in my hand helplessly finding it's way back in my pocket. "Okay then, grumpy asshole" I mumbled happily. Noting that friendly gestures hadn't made me happy like this in a long time. Then again, they get rarer with the day.

At night, when I had lied down my bed, did my writing for the day, and listened to the animal cries outside in the cold wind. I thought back to my cries back then. My cries.. They made me think of the grumpy tea guy, he made me think of him. Of the guy I;d always admire. The guy I would have loved to marry if I could. The man I could break my neck for by looking up to him, or by turning back time, everything is fine.  
But this boy, he was too young, he was my age. Now that I saw him though, I was hopelessly lost in thought, foolishly thinking about something I thought I had forgotten.


	3. Kyaru's cry to infinity

"Hey, you're the grumpy tea guy" now chiyo wasn't one of the clearest but she knew it took the guy a while to realize that 'the grumpy tea guy' was him. "grumpy what?" he mumbled in his grumpy way. "grumpy tea guy" "I'm not!" he almost yelled, making chiyo chuckly "You seem kind of grumpy to me and.. look at your hand" She saw his eyes travel to the hand "tea" The guy frowned, seeming utterly annoyed. "Then again I'm not sure if you're a guy, but I just assumed you are" "Is that all?" Chiyo bit her lip. Knowing what she wanted to ask was hard for her as well. She wanted to ask it, mostly wanted to know it. This night, even the dark sky had noticed her not closing an eye, the moon who was ones gone had spoken to her while she was deep in thoughts, trying to tell her night was for sleep, but he was keeping her awake. She could live with it.. but she didn't want to.  
"Ah no, I had a question" he nodded looking at the tea he was bringing to people at work. "Do you like.. know someone named mako?" Chiyo studdied his face, though she couldn't place his expression. "no, I don't.. why?" "Nothing, I'm sorry" She mumbled bowing down a little "For keeping you from your work, I mean, of cores also for taking your time.. Tell the teashop owner it was Chiyo who kept you away." Chiyo grinned happily sticking out a bit of her tongue "Actually, feel free to use it anytime" Zuko was stunned by her quick switch, going from serious to childish and from childish to whatever there was more. "Bye" Chiyo waved, mentally having a fit, wondering if she should ask for his name. Going back now. Then again, quickly enough she figured she wouldn't meet him again. There was also no reason or so. She figured, it would be better if she just walked on, let him work.

When chiyo opened the door there she came eye in eye with her best friend, kyaru. She couldn't help but think about how kyaru didn't quite match with the other earth inhabitants. Not even with the refugees. The way kyaru walked in, walked to the place she wanted to sit as if she was flying , it was different from chiyo's. Chiyo was ferm, she stood like no one one could knock her away, she walked up to people like it was nothing and she had no shame. The only thing that didn't match an earthbender was how easygoing she was. Spiritual and childish. While on the other hand, Kyaru was calm but serious. Kyaru, would have be air, if she was an element. Going with the flow, like she did when coming into Ba sing se.

"Uh, I wanted to talk to you, about.. something I have been thinking about a lot lately, about my old home.." Chiyo nodded firmly, stood up, almost knocking her tea over. Then- without saying a word- she locked the door and closed the window. "Thank you" Chiyo knew what was going to come, yet she felt something like excitement and happiness about the fact her best friend finally opened up to her. "You can tell me" Kyaru nodded, her nervousness not showing, yet her head hanging down.

"When they came, it was early in the morning, a few hours before that I had laid in my boyfriends bed, smiled at him as he tried to hide how tired he was. You see, I think I already told you, but my boyfriend and I weren't really.. welcome as a couple. He was seventeen and I was fifteen back in those days.. They found us too young, they thought he should spend time on fighting, so he did that at daytime and spend his time with me at night... That night, I had to leave around half past five, because my parents woke up at seven, he told me ' I wish I could stay with you until infinity stops' I smiled at him, 'Even if I leave now, our hearts, our bodies, will find each other back, we last until infinity, I'll find you until infinity stops.." Chiyo felt horrible as she saw well up in her friends eyes, thinking she was going to snap, yell and cry. Do what she would do. "I didn't" This was an whisper, to the darker eyed girls surprise. "I didn't find him, and I didn't let our bodies connect anymore, I went here with my family when the firenation attacked, while he was being carried away"

"You couldn't have done anything"

"I could have been locked into a cell beside his, look into his eyes every day"

Chiyo shut up, she knew anything she could say now would make it worse. It would make Kyaru upset and it would make her think more, if not she'd lie.

The words laid on chiyo's tongue though, she knew she should swallow them before bad things happened. But the words were there.  
'I'll break him out, I'll bring him to you'  
She felt like a coward for not saying them. Of coures if would be false hope. If it didn't work it would be worse, it's suicide. But maybe.. I would have a chance. I'm strong. Probably stronger than any earthbenders in the city. I could do something. Now I could do something. Like I couldn't do anything when Omashu became New Ozai. Maybe now...  
"The firenation will fall, you'll be able to make up for the time you've lost"

Kyaru smiled innocently and bowed her head slightly "Thank you"

"If that time comes, we'll get out of here, I'll take to to him"


	4. A day

Chiyo watched leyla- a girl from her class- hang onto the grumpy tea guy's -as she still didn't know zuko's name- arm. He looked like he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die while leyla on the other hand looked like she was the most amazing women alive. Of course chiyo had to admit that this boy was one who looked easy. Because boys in the earthkingdom acting distant when they want girls? Maybe because of that.  
Actually, she couldn't quite describe it, but he looked really approachable and cute, while she knew, that that whole though guy act, was either real, or hard to break through.  
From the few times they talked she had noticed he wasn't just distant and grumpy. He was really awkward to. Now again she noticed this fact. It was like the guy had never learned how to treat other people. Of course again, she didn't really mind, like she minded no ones personality. She was actually quite amused. She hadn't thought she'd see him be awkward with Leyla around his arm.

"Oh there you are.. Actually I was wondering where you were but.. Something held you here, I see" The inner chiyo was laughing of course. As she found, every thing in this world quite hilarious or interesting.  
"uh, yeah" he mumbled "Leyla I'm sorry to spoil your fun" Chiyo said before taking zuko's hand and walking away.  
She didn't know if her reason for taking zuko's hand was because it was necesairy or just because she wanted to annoy leyla a little more, but either way she did, and both benders regretted her choice right after when embarrassment washed over them like the waterbenders toughest wave.  
"So, what were you doing at my school?" "Walking around, it's my day of" Only then chiyo noticed that his voice always sounded like he just woke up. It was had little morning grunt in it, even when he was talking polite, bored or mad. It just always sounded like he woke up in the middle of the night. Though maybe that is why he's always that pissed off.  
Thinking about that she couldn't help but chuckly out loud. "What?" Zuko snapped. "I was thinking-" chiyo started ignoring his madness "that you always act like someone woke you at night" "You don't know me" he mumbled moody "No.. No I don't"  
That had shut zuko up. He had been expecting an explanation. A reason why she thought that, a reason she knew him or maybe just stupid words, but she simply gave in.  
"What's your name by the way?" "lee" "well hello lee, my name is chiyo the great" Chiyo said happily while taking a bow. "Are you serious?" "Nope, most of the time I'm not" "Oh," "I see you are, most of the time" "Always" "Not even a small smile" "No" "Well worth a try I guess" CHiyo mumbled to herself as they walked through the busy street. "So.. I hink I'll go n-" "Nope, I'm going to show you around" "Stop interupting me" "I just finished your sentence" Chiyo grinned at zuko and pulled his arm. "I already saw the city" "You looked at it, but you didn't see it" Chiyo mumbled happily while walking towards the places she wanted to go.  
And the places she wanted to go, indeed were the places the eyescarred man had never seen. Not that he had really seen much of the city, but these places were the places people would usually not come. She showed him places that were even illigal to go. She was a calm rebel, that was probably obvious. She kept smiling, kept calm but knew all the secrets. She wanted to show this man those secrets. Maybe it was because he looked like the man that saved her, he looked like the boy that has always been in her heart. But maybe it was just because you could see he was a warrior. He was strong, a fighter, heartbroken, mind fucked, you could see all of it in his eyes. His eyes had a story that could not simply be brought to words, and she wanted him to bring it to words anyway. Words directly meant for her.

"I had no idea this was here" zuko said when she was almost finished showing him around. "They'd rather not have us at beautiful places like these, it'll make us know that the world out is beautiful" with a dance alike turn she moved to zuko's other side "But we're outsiders, we already know" "I don't know if the world out is that much more beautiful" Zuko mumbled turning around and ignoring the grin falling off her face "I know it is! There are a few bad people but so many good people and beautiful plants and animals and maybe the clouds would even look different" She mumbled trying to remember what it really looked like, maybe this moody new guy was right, maybe the world wasn't anything worth fighting for. "It's worth fighting for right? Else you wouldn't have done so."

Zuko turned with one mad move "Who Said I did?!" he yelled at her.

A soft silence, then chiyo walked little closer to zuko, so that she could talk softer "You're eyes did"

Zuko's hand moved to his wound, touching it with a sad face. "I was talking about your eyes, not about your scar, that thing can't tell me anything" "Well sorry I thought about it when you talk like that" Zuko mumbled sarcastic.  
Actually chiyo couldn't really believe he could talk to her like that after one day of talking. The fact he was already mad at her was kind of amusing, like he already trusted her.. She knew that wasn't the case though. "I'm sorry for saying it like that then, now can I show you the last place?"

Zuko nodded.


End file.
